Tuesday, August 9, 2011

'War zone' on capital's streets. Terrified witnesses of the rioting have compared scenes to a war zone. Onlookers in Peckham said they feared for their lives as people struggled to get through to emergency services by phone.

Police took more than five minutes to answer a 999 call placed by a witness who saw three youths break into a shop. Fireworks were thrown at police as they continued to disperse the crowd.

"The Government shouldn't cut down on the police numbers. There's old people around and they can't get home. It's not right."

Teacher Matthew Yeoland, 43, said: "There's been tension for a long time. The kids aren't happy. They hate the police."

One commuter from East Dulwich, who gave his name only as Jack, described the scene in Peckham as a "war zone".

He said: "I was on the 12 bus coming into Peckham and eight police vans streamed past. Then a load of people wearing bandannas went in the other direction and I saw a group of people standing around a petrol container.

"The bus stopped and there was loads of screaming and shouting. I looked out of the window and there was a bunch of lads who were pushing a big industrial bin towards our bus. It crashed into the side and the window shattered. There was a few people crying. The driver didn't want to open the doors but a few people forced them open so they could get out."

He added: "Outside the fire station there was a bus on fire. There was thick smoke everywhere. It looked like a war zone."